Top Ten Brushes for My Makeup Bag

I got a request off of one of my lovely friends, Rachel, to do a blogpost on my top ten favourite, can't live without, makeup brushes of all time, so here it is guys.

#1 Crown Brushes C427, Tapered Duo Fibre Blush Brush. €12.65

I love using this brush to apply foundation. You can use a standard Foundation Duo Fibre Brush to do this but I prefer the shape and size of this particular one. It is domed in shape and a smaller size than the normal version, perfect to get into all areas around the face. Blends the product perfectly and quickly. This brush can also be used to apply powder, contour, blusher, highlight or bronzer.

#2 Sigma F25, Tapered Face Brush. €21.20

This brush is excellent for applying powder, loose or pressed, to the face. It has a tapered finish so it is very easy to apply powder to the outskirts of the face, but also the perfect shape for under the eyes. It can also be used to apply Bronzer.

#3 Sigma F40, Large Angled Contour Brush. €13.89

This brush is my favourite to apply a good contour to the face. Simple to use and the goat hair does not pick up too much product so it is almost impossible to over do on your sculpting.

#4 Sigma F35, Tapered Highlighter Brush. €15.35

There is nothing about this brush I do not love. There are many uses for this brush. It is the perfect size and shape to contour, highlight, apply blusher or even apply a small amount of powder under the eyes to prevent your foundation from creasing.

 

#5 Inglot 31T, Gel Eyeliner Brush. €12

This brush is my Holy Grail when it comes to eyebrows. I use a gel eyeliner to fill in my eyebrows and I find this brush perfect for the task. It can also be used to apply gel eyeliner. I wouldn't reccommend this brush to be used with shadows as it is made from Taklon. Because of this, it may cause downfall from any powder based products. The only downfall on this brush is it does tend to fray, meaning you may need to purchase a new one every few months.

#6 Sigma E35, Tapered Blending Brush. €10.23

If your looking for a good brush to blend out any stubborn edges, this is the one for you. Slightly stiffer than your average blender, it helps to blend out colour on the eyes effortlessly. I would not reccommend to apply the product directly with this brush as you may not have control on where the shadow goes. Instead, apply with a smaller brush and use the E35 clean to blend.

#7 Crown C250-0, Mini Liner Brush. €2.04

Other than being the cheapest brush, on the planet, this brush is so teeny it is perfect to apply the perfect flick eyeliner. You really can't go wrong.

#8 Inglot 9S, Flat Eyeshadow Brush. €16

This is my go-to brush for packing on colour to the lid or the brow bone. Because it is slightly stiff in texture, it holds product great and does not cause downfall. This brush can also be used for concealer.

#9 MAC 217, Eyeshadow Blending Brush. €17.55

The 217 is an essential brush to any person who even looks at makeup. You can use it to not only apply product, but also to blend a product out. Only downfall, the price and the longevity. For the price of this brush, you would expect it to last well and clean well, however, it doesn't.  The individual hairs in this brush tend to snap and stain very easily. The Crown C433, Pro Blending Fluff Brush is almost an exact duplicate, without the problems and for a fraction of the price at €7.34. This brush is also great for applying concealer.

(The top brush is Crown C433 and the bottom is MAC 217).

#10 Charles H.Fox 1/4 81460/02

I'm not sure of a price on this brush as I received it as part of my kit in college and it's as if it doesn't exist online. However a precise lip brush is essential to any person who wears lipstick. To get the perfect pout you need to apply your lipstick with a brush. A good duplicate of this brush is the Inglot Lip Brush with the Silver Lid. It prices in at around €18.

I may be cheating a little here as I did say the 'Top Ten' fave brushes, but technically this is not a brush. My major beauty essential for applying makeup is the Beauty Blender, be it the original or a dupe. Simply run it under water, squeeze out the excess water and stipple your foundation onto the skin. The pointed shape at the tip of the sponge, the moist consistency with the water, mixed with your foundation, creates almost a flawless finish on ANY skin. It blends your base out perfectly and prevents the skin from appearing cakey, even when using a full coverage foundation. 

I use the ModelsOwn Beauty Blender. Two sponges for €12 available in Boots.

Hope this helps guys

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Love Jen xxx

How To Clean Your Makeup Brushes

So as you know, I am heading away, and on my adventure I could not got without some vital tools of my trade. Today I got around to cleaning ALL of my makeup brushes, personal and professional. It took a little while, but a couple of hundred brushes later and some definite wrinkle-finger syndrome, I am done!!

The majority of people who use makeup brushes to apply their war paint are very aware that they need to be washed regularly and shown a little bit of care and love. Unfortunately, a little bit of love can mean very different things to many different people. I have heard some horror stories about people washing their brushes. Filling the sink with water and throwing all the brushes in to 'soak'. Pulling at the bristles of the brushes. Leaving the brushes to dry standing up. Even a case of using bleach, yes I know, my heart stopped a little too, bleach!!

I have had many of my brushes for years and years and they still look, feel and do their job as if they are freshly out of their packaging, so I think I know a thing or two about cleaning and maintaining brushes. I'm not saying my way is right or that other ways are wrong, however, I have found this method to work for me and for my beloved brushes, abuse free!!

The only thing you need to clean your brushes are items you most probably have in your house. Warm water and some washing up liquid. You can use shampoo, baby shampoo, specific brush cleansers but I find washing up liquid to be the best. I use Fairy washing up liquid as it isn't too harsh on the bristles of the brush but yet it strips grease, oils, bacteria, and of course makeup, easily off your brushes.

Using warm running water, wet the brush with the bristles facing downwards so the water does not seep into the barrel of the brush, usually the silver area in between the handle and the bristles. Whenever emercing the brush under water, it should always be done in this way because if not, water will loosen the glue holding all the hairs in place, the hairs will fall out and ruin your brush and your makeup!

Squeeze a pea size amount of washing up liquid onto the palm of your hand. Using circular motions, stir the brush into the liquid until it begins to sud up. Rinse the bristles of your brush under warm water and repeat until the suds and water run white and clear. 

Be gentle with your brushes. You do not want to damage the bristles by being too rough or bending the bristles too much.

Now your brush is clean you want to dry the bristles. With the brush facing down again, wrap the bristles with your fingers and gently squeeze the water out. You do not want to pull at the hairs while doing this, just gently squeeze the bristles and shape the brush to its original shape.

When the excess water has been wrung-out, lay all of your freshly cleaned brushes out on a clean, flat towel in a cool dry place. This will allow the brushes to fully dry naturally in their original shape without the water dripping down into the barrel. Leave overnight. 

Your brushes are now squeaky clean to use on you or your clients. Let me know if you have any questions. Jx

Sun-Rays and Ritches

This summer has been a bit all over the place here in Ireland. Rain to start off with! No surprise there, and then into a scorching heat wave, and then greeted with tropical storms, we don't no weather to pack our RayBans or our brollies into that all in one handbag!!

Well I've prepared my favourite makeup products for this summer to keep your complexion covered in the rain or dewy in those rays of sunshine!!

FACE:

This spring/summer I have started to use the Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in the shade 210. I am usually used to a full coverage finish from Revlon Colourstay Foundation but thought a lighter finish would be nicer for the warmer months. Being a medium coverage, this foundation can be worn quite sheer or build up to a medium-full coverage so can suit for any surprises Mother Nature has in store for us. I found the colour selection in this range to be very yellow. Even the pink shades are still on the yellow side of the scales. So if you are a yellow toned beauty or love your tan to be straight from a bottle, this should be perfect for you! However porcelain or very pink toned ladies might want to steer clear!!

As I've opted for a lighter coverage foundation, I need a bit of concealer for those problematic areas such as under the eyes and around the nose. My choice of concealers is the MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC20 (around 2 shades lighter than the 210 foundation from Maybeline). This concealer is of a fuller coverage so I apply it with a damp beauty blender to make it look more natural and blended.

Blusher, I think, is a must have for these summer days. A little flush of colour on the cheeks just brings that little bit of brightness to your face, honestly, it makes a world of difference! I just couldn't choose one colour to stick to, so I have my three favourite shades that I've been addicted to the past couple of months. Peaches, a beautiful orange toned coral colour, Fleur Power, a soft pink with a hint of peach, and Pink Swoon, a soft candy pink, all from MAC. They will change your life.......well, your face!!

One thing that is vital to give you the perfect glow is the highlighter!! Now before I go on, I must admit, I used to HATE highlighter on my face! The thoughts of it would send shivers down my spine! I would absolutely love it on other people and pile it on all of my clients but thought it looked like I was covered in sweat!! I am a changed woman! MAC Highlighter in Soft and Gentle is the most stunning soft, golden highlight that catches the light beautifully making your features stand out MILES!!

And finally, probably THE most important makeup item for the summer months is the Bronzer. To put over the foundation to warm up those cheeks, to put underneath the cheeks to contour beautiful shapes into the face or to wear with no makeup underneath just to give the face a bit of warmth when it's too hot to wear a full face of warpaint. I love MAC Bronzing Powder in Deep Dark for when I want a small bit of a glow to the skin or INGLOTs Face Powder in the number 31 if I want a matte finish.

Your face is now sorted for those unpredictable summer days, rain, sun or snow. Let me know if you have any questions.

Jx